On February 11th, 1929, an historic treaty was signed between the Italian
Government and the Vatican re-establishing the political power and diplomatic
standing of the Catholic Church, which had been lost when Italy seized Rome, the
last of the Papal States,
on September 20th, 1870.

Stamp set issued for the 2009 celebration of the 80th anniversary of the birth
of the Vatican State.

Italy and the Roman Catholic Church have
healed wounds!

November 15, 2002

Excerpt from an article by NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press:

ROME--Pope John Paul II made a historic speech to Italy's parliament
Thursday, urging Italians to work for world peace, uphold their Christian
values and have more babies.

The visit--the first time a pope has appeared before the Italian
parliament--underscored the warmth that the country feels for the Polish-born
John Paul, the first non-Italian pontiff in 455 years.

It also showed Italy and the Roman Catholic Church have healed wounds that
a century ago prompted popes to call themselves ''prisoners'' of the Vatican
rather than accept Italy's government as legitimate.

VATICAN AND ITALY SIGN PACT RECREATING A
PAPAL STATE; 60 YEARS OF ENMITY ENDED; THRONGS CHEER IN STREETS
Acclaim Gasparri and
Mussolini, Signers of Three Agreements.

By ARNALDO CORTESI.
Wireless to THE NEW YORK TIMES

ROME, Feb. 11.--The Pope is again an independent
sovereign ruler, as he was throughout the Middle Ages, though his temporal
realm, established today, is the most microscopic independent State in the
world, and probably the smallest in all history.
— THE NEW YORK TIMES, Tuesday, February
12, 1929.

Benito Mussolini reads his credentials prior
to signing the Lateran Treaty on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III.
Cardinal Gasparri (seated), signed on behalf of Pope Pius XI.

Mussolini signs the Lateran Pact of 1929,
which brought into being the Vatican City State.

Cardinal Gasparri signs the Lateran
Concordat
as Mussolini looks on.

The seals and signatures of Benito Mussolini and Cardinal
Gasparri.

Postcard commemorating the Lateran Pact

For 59 years the Pope was a virtual prisoner in the Vatican,
never leaving it until the pact was signed, resolving the "Roman question".
Known as the Lateran Treaty or Lateran Concordat of 1929, this was the
momentous event prophesied in the book of Revelation:

Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise
up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns
ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet
were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and
the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his
deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

Newspapers at the time even proclaimed the "wound" to the Vatican as
"healed". Here on the left is an article from the February 12th, 1929
edition of the San Francisco Chronicle. To download a readable
version (100K), click on the image at left.

Below is the full front page containing the above article. To
download the large version (377K) click on the image below.

Even Catholic newspapers reporting the event declared the "wound" to
be healed by the Lateran Treaty. Here is a page from The Catholic
Advocate, published in Brisbane, Australia on April 18th, 1929.
Click on the image below to download the larger readable version (139K).

Cardinal Gasparri and Benito Mussolini
(seated) after exchanging treaty ratifications
in the Hall of Congregations, the Vatican, June 7th, 1929.

The agreement signed 70 years ago by Benito Mussolini and
Cardinal Gasparri, on behalf of the King Victor Emmanuel III and Pope Pius
XI, restored the full diplomatic and political power of the Holy See of
Rome. And today, all the world indeed "wonders" at the revived power of
the Roman Catholic Church, the epitome of Church and State combined and a
major player in global politics. Pope Pius XI himself commented on the
concordat, and his restored power, in the first ten paragraphs of his
encyclical Quinquagesimo
Antewhich is available online.